Ready for the healthy upgrade you didn't know your chili needed? It's kale! Kale adds great texture and earthy flavor that pair perfectly with smoky spices, tender beans, and that thick tomato base.
Kale is my new favorite addition to chili, and quite frankly, it has nothing to do with making the chili healthier or adding "sneaky" veggies. Any nutritional benefit is just a bonus. The kale is absolutely not hiding in here — it's front and center and delicious! If you're a kale lover who goes crazy for dishes like my Tuscan kale soup, creamy kale curry, and kale pasta, then this kale chili is for you!
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You can really throw kale into almost any of my chili recipes and it'll be good, but this particular chili is crafted around it. I tweaked the spices to make the flavor extra smoky, using both smoked paprika and chipotle chili powder, plus fire roasted tomatoes. And then there's a surprise ingredient you might never detect, but it makes the chili extra rich and intense — cocoa powder! (Trust me on this one.)
The result is a rich, smoky chili that's perfect for the earthy flavor andl texture of kale. And it's a super simple one-pot deal!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Vegetable oil. Any high-heat oil you like to cook with is fine. Olive, canola, coconut, and corn oil will all work.
- Onion.
- Bell peppers. The recipe calls for one red and one green. Feel free to switch that up with other colors, keeping in mind that the flavor will vary.
- Tomato paste.
- Garlic.
- Cocoa powder. Say what?! Yes, we're putting chocolate in chili. You won't detect the taste as chocolate, but it will enhance the rich, smoky flavor of the chili base.
- Spices. You'll need a blend of chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and chipotle chili powder.
- Water.
- Fire roasted tomatoes. Regular diced tomatoes can be substituted, but the chili will be less smoky.
- Beans. The recipe calls for a can of red kidney beans and a can of black beans, but you're welcome to swap them out with whatever you have in the pantry, such as pinto beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, or lentils.
- Salt.
- Kale. I use curly kale for this recipe, because it's readily available. Other varieties like red kale or Tuscan kale will work just fine.
- Black pepper.
Tip: Don't forget the toppings! This chili is great with sliced avocado, chopped scallions, cilantro, chives, vegan cheese, guacamole, vegan sour cream, or cashew cream.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Cook the vegetables. Heat your oil in a large pot, then add diced onion and bell peppers. Cook the mixture for about 10 minutes to start softening them up.
Step 2: Cook the tomato paste. Add it to the pot and cook it for about 2 minutes, until it darkens a bit. Stir the entire time to prevent burning.
Step 3: Cook garlic and spices. Add minced garlic, cocoa powder, and all of your spices. Cook the mixture for about a minute, until the garlic and spices become very fragrant. Stir constantly.
Step 4: Simmer. Stir in the water, tomatoes, beans, and salt. Crank up the heat and bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes.
Step 5: Add the kale. It'll seem like a lot of kale, but it will cook down. Add a handful at a time, stir it in, then add more. Once it's all in, let the chili simmer for about 15 minutes.
Step 6: Finish the chili. Take the pot off of heat, season the chili with additional salt to taste and some black pepper, and adjust any other seasonings to suit your preference.
Step 7: Serve. Your kale chili is done! Ladle it into bowls, pile on the toppings, and dig in! This chili is perfect with some vegan cornbread or vegan corn muffins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yep! The recipe as written includes no gluten-containing ingredients.
It's spicy in the sense that it's flavorful and includes lots of spices, but it's not hot. If you'd like some heat, add cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce to taste.
Nope! The cocoa enhances the flavor, but it's super subtle and you won't even know it's in there. You might just decide you love it so much that you start adding cocoa to all of your chili recipes!
Leftover kale chili will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Kale Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 2 cups water
- 2 (15 ounce/425 gram) cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce/425 gram) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 ounce/425 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 pound curly kale (about 1 large bunch), stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion and both bell peppers. Cook the mixture for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies begin to soften up.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook it with the veggies for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it just begins to darken.
- Stir in the garlic, cocoa, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and chipotle chili powder. Cook the mixture for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the water, tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, and salt. Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let the chili simmer for 15 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Stir in the kale, adding a handful at a time then stirring it in before adding more. Once all of the kale has been added, bring the chili back to a simmer and cook it for about 15 minutes more, until the kale is tender and the chili has thickened, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water if the chili gets too thick at any point.
- Remove the pot from heat and season the chili with additional salt to taste and black pepper.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on ingredients, brands, portion sizes, and preparation methods.
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